A French zoo and police say intruders have shot dead a white rhino and sawed off its horns. The break-in at the Thoiry wildlife park near Paris is suspected as poaching. Rhino horns fetch thousands on the black market.
Image: Reuters/C. Hartmann
Advertisement
Zookeepers at the Thoiry zoo and wildlife park made the grisly discovery on Tuesday after an overnight attack.
"Staff left the rhino enclosure on Monday. When they returned on Tuesday, an animal had been killed and its two horns had been sawn off," a police spokeswoman told news agency AFP.
Poaching takes a toll on elephants
Elephant numbers have dropped by more than 60 percent over the last decade due to habitat loss and poaching. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory and meat.
Image: picture alliance/blickwinkel/M. Hicken
Dwindling numbers
A century ago, 10 million elephants were roaming across Africa - today, there are an estimated 450,000 to 700,000 African elephants and between 35,000 and 40,000 wild Asian elephants. Since elephant numbers have dropped by 62 percent over the last decade, conservationists fear they could be almost extinct in the next 10 years.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Harding
Killed for their ivory tusks
Every day, around 100 African elephants are killed for their tusks, which end up being sold mainly on the Asian market. In the past five years, Chinese demand for ivory has gone up, which fueled poaching even more. In July, customs officials at Zurich airport seized 262 kilograms (578 pounds) of ivory chopped up and hidden in eight suitcases during a random search on three Chinese passengers.
Image: Reuters/R. Sprich
Conflict fueled by ivory sales
Wildlife trafficking has been estimated to be the third biggest illegal business after drug and human trafficking. Illegal ivory boosts all kind of conflicts across the continent. For example, insurgent groups like Al-Shabab, the Lord's Resistance Army and Boko Haram buy weapons by handing in elephant tusks. A pound of ivory sells for about $1,000 (903 euros) on the Chinese black market.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/African Parks
Coexisting with elephants
Despite a ban on international ivory trade, elephants are still being targeted in large numbers. Organizations like SOS Elephants say it's crucial to teach local communities about why elephants are important for Africa's ecosystem and how they can make a living through ecotourism and coexisting farming techniques instead.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa-Zentralbild
Habitat loss
In addition to poaching, elephants are also struggling with dwindling habitat. Human populations have vastly increased since the turn of the century, meaning there's less space for elephants: Forests have been cleared and turned into land for crops or livestock. And some of the animals have been captured, trained and used for activities such as illegal logging.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Silver lining?
At the end of July 2015, US President Barack Obama announced plans to effectively ban most ivory trade in the United States and to add new restrictions when it could be exported. The US is the second biggest market for ivory after China which has also pledged to clamp down on ivory trade on its domestic markets.
Image: picture alliance/blickwinkel/M. Hicken
6 images1 | 6
The 4-year-old white male rhinoceros named Vince had been shot three times in the head. His main horn was stolen, the policewoman said. The second horn was partially cut, leading the zoo to believe the poacher or poachers may have been disturbed or suffered equipment failure.
The zoo said the intruders broke through a gate and forced through two doors to reach the animal, without disturbing the five staff members who live on site. The wildlife park is also equipped with security cameras.
The two other rhinos in the enclosure at the time, a 37-year-old called female called Gracie and a five-year-old male called Bruno, were not physically harmed.
Thoiry Zoo, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Paris, features a safari park that visitors can only access in a vehicle.
Lucrative and deadly trade
Investigators estimate the stolen horn to be worth between 30,000 and 40,000 euros ($31,700 to $42,250) on the black market. Demand comes mainly from China and Vietnam where it is coveted as an aphrodisiac and for use in substances believed to have healing properties. International trade in rhino horn is banned.
Zoo director Thierry Duguet says poachers shot rhino Vince three timesImage: Reuters/C. Hartmann
Last year, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that 1,335 rhinoceroses had been killed by poachers across their native habitats in Africa. That number had been increasing for six years in a row. In South Africa, which is home to 80 percent of remaining rhinos, poaching deaths surged from 83 in 2008 to a record 1,215 in 2014.
The IUCN said the total white rhinoceros population was between 19,500 and 21,500 and the species was considered "near threatened."
Thoiry zoo said that the case was the first killing of a rhinoceros in captivity by suspected poachers in Europe.
